A salary survey conducted by M-Tec Engineering Solutions in Q1 2016 of the UK MHE Service Engineering market.

1. M-Tec Engineering Solutions Ltd
M-Tec House, 10 Frederick Street, Birmingham B1 3HE, UK
Tel: 0121 710 1800
Visit our website: www.mtec-es.com
M-Tec Engineering – MHE Sector UK Salary Survey – Q1 2016
We have divided the country into 11 “Patches”, which demonstrate some of the variance within
each of those regions as appropriate.
The below table details average basic salaries secured for candidates within M-Tec’s customer base
within the materials handling sector during the 2015/16 Financial Year.
Average Basic Salaries FY2015-16 (Sorted by Region):
Patch Postcodes
FY2015-16
Average Salary *
Rank
Scotland†
AB, KA, DD, KW, DG, KY, EH
ML, FK, PA, G, PH, TD, IV
£24,216 6
North East DH, NE, DL, SR £23,313 11
North West
BB, L, LA, BL, M, CA, OL, CH, PR
CW, SK, FY, WA, WN
£24,912 2
Lincolnshire & Yorkshire
HG, TS, HU, WF, LS, YO, HU, WF
LS, YO, BD, HD, HX, S, DN, LN
£24,095 7
North Midlands ST, DE, NG £23,915 8
East & West Midlands B, CV, TF, DY, WR, HR, WS, WV, NN £24,291 5
East Anglia NR, IP, CO, CB, PE £23,376 10
South West & South Wales
TR, PL, EX, TQ, TA, DT, BH, SP
SN, BS, GL, NP, CF, LD, SA
£23,675 9
Northern Home Counties SS, CM, AL, LU, SG, MK, HP, OX, RG, SL £24,591 4
Greater London
BR, NW, CR, RM, DA, SE, E, SM, EC, SW
EN, TW, HA, UB, IG, W, KT, WC, N, WD
£27,158 1
Southern Home Counties SO, PO, GU, RH, BN, TN, ME, CT £24,613 3
UK AVERAGE BASIC STARTING SALARY £24,445

2. M-Tec Engineering Solutions Ltd
M-Tec House, 10 Frederick Street, Birmingham B1 3HE, UK
Tel: 0121 710 1800
Visit our website: www.mtec-es.com
Average Basic Salaries FY2015-16 (Ranked):
Patch Postcodes
FY2015-16
Average Salary *
Rank
Greater London
BR, NW, CR, RM, DA, SE, E, SM, EC, SW
EN, TW, HA, UB, IG, W, KT, WC, N, WD
£27,158 1
North West
BB, L, LA, BL, M, CA, OL, CH, PR
CW, SK, FY, WA, WN
£24,912 2
Southern Home Counties SO, PO, GU, RH, BN, TN, ME, CT £24,613 3
Northern Home Counties SS, CM, AL, LU, SG, MK, HP, OX, RG, SL £24,591 4
East & West Midlands B, CV, TF, DY, WR, HR, WS, WV, NN £24,291 5
Scotland†
AB, KA, DD, KW, DG, KY, EH
ML, FK, PA, G, PH, TD, IV
£24,216 6
Lincolnshire & Yorkshire
HG, TS, HU, WF, LS, YO, HU, WF
LS, YO, BD, HD, HX, S, DN, LN
£24,095 7
North Midlands ST, DE, NG £23,915 8
South West & South Wales
TR, PL, EX, TQ, TA, DT, BH, SP
SN, BS, GL, NP, CF, LD, SA
£23,675 9
East Anglia NR, IP, CO, CB, PE £23,376 10
North East DH, NE, DL, SR £23,313 11
UK AVERAGE BASIC STARTING SALARY £24,445
* Where we are aware of differences in contracted hours between customers, we have adjusted the figure to
reflect the equivalent salary for a basic working week of 40 hours.
† Figures for Scotland only include placements made within the “Central Belt” region – we have not placed
anyone outside of the Edinburgh/Glasgow/Falkirk postcodes.
All regions rely on a minimum of 4 data points per region, with a maximum of 8 data points per region.

3. M-Tec Engineering Solutions Ltd
M-Tec House, 10 Frederick Street, Birmingham B1 3HE, UK
Tel: 0121 710 1800
Visit our website: www.mtec-es.com
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS & EARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Overtime
 Overtime is commonly paid on a sliding scale – typically with time x 1.5 during the week and on
Saturdays, and double time rates for Sundays / Bank Holidays.
 No organisation “guarantees” overtime – however many are happy to quote the levels of
overtime that their existing engineers currently have available, and the associated OTEs.
Bonuses
 The vast majority of OEMs and larger dealers have a bonus structure in place for their engineers,
typically based on service KPIs such as First Time Fix Rate, Job Attendance Times, Service
Schedule Completion Rates, Customer Satisfaction, and other similar measures. Often a group
or regional performance factor will also be included.
 The majority of OEMs and larger dealers will also have an sales incentive programme – either
based on successful sales lead referrals, or engineers upselling additional work themselves
 Smaller dealers and independent distributors will rarely have a formal bonus or incentive
structure available for their engineers
Working Hours & Travel Time
 Most engineers will be employed on contracts ranging from 37.5 to 45 hours per week,
dependent on the organisation
 The vast majority of companies now ask field service engineers to give 30 minutes of their own
time for travel in the morning
 There are some exceptions, but an engineer being paid “from their front door” is now the
exception rather than the trend
 Callout rotas are typically compensated with payments between £50 and £150, often with a
minimum payment guaranteed for any call, irrespective of the length of time spent on the job
 Some organisations offer the opportunity for engineers to take up a longer contract – i.e. opt for
a longer basic working week in return for a higher basic salary. This is something which we have
noticed as a response to a shortage of candidates in certain locations
NONE-FINANCIAL BENEFITS
Smaller dealers and independent distributors will typically offer:
 Workwear / PPE
 Holidays starting at 22-25 days + statutory bank holidays
Most OEMs and larger dealers will also offer:
 Tooling allowance or assisted purchase scheme
 Contributory Pension
 Death in Service / Life Assurance Scheme
 Some form of medical cover (often with the option to extend to dependants at further cost)
 Childcare Vouchers
 A minimum number of training days/courses per year (aside from any training necessary during
the on-boarding process)

4. M-Tec Engineering Solutions Ltd
M-Tec House, 10 Frederick Street, Birmingham B1 3HE, UK
Tel: 0121 710 1800
Visit our website: www.mtec-es.com
NOTES & COMMENTS ON RECRUITING FROM ALTERNATE SECTORS
M-Tec frequently look to source candidates from alternate backgrounds for the Materials Handling
sector, primarily due to an overall shortage of skilled engineers within the sector. Below are some
observations and comments upon the challenges and respective ease of recruiting individuals from
four alternate sectors we have considered.
Plant Machinery
The plant sector mirrors the MHE sector relatively closely on salaries. Some discrepancy lies in the
nature of companies that are found in the sector, in that there are also vast arrays of companies
who focus purely on the hire industry. Engineers from a “hire” background as opposed to
OEM/dealership will often have been exposed to a broader variety of product and will prove to be
more adaptable in their approach. Conversely, these engineers may not have as in-depth fault-
finding skills as might be expected from an engineer who has worked purely for an OEM/dealer. We
find engineers move between plant and MHE readily and freely.
Agricultural Machinery
The agricultural machinery sector is governed by seasonal work. During the summer, engineers will
typically be occupied with urgent breakdown attendance of machines, and as such may end up
working very long hours 6 or 7 days a week. During the winter months the nature of the job changes
to a focus on preventative maintenance and service work – engineers during this period will typically
live on basic hours alone. Agricultural engineers will only really move into MHE if they are happy to
compromise on OTE given the amount of overtime they can command during the summer months.
Powered Access Machinery
Powered Access is a sector which is dominated by Hire Companies as opposed to OEMs/Dealers.
Engineers will typically again demonstrate strong adaptability due to the variety of products worked
on. The nature of these products also means that they will typically have very strong electrical fault-
finding skills. Unfortunately the powered access sector compares favourably to the MHE sector on
salaries, which makes it very difficult to attract a Powered Access Engineer to an MHE role.
Commercial Vehicles and Passenger Cars
The Commercial Vehicles sector contains more engineers (or technicians as they are more commonly
referred as) who are workshop-based, as opposed to being mobile. Often technicians will be
working on a shift basis. Skill levels vary greatly, with the lesser-skilled candidates typically being
strong mechanics, but lacking in-depth electrical fault-finding skills. Highly-skilled candidates will
display very strong electrical fault-finding skills. These highly-skilled engineers are able to bridge the
product gap quite readily to MHE, however the hourly rates they achieve within the commercial
vehicles sector proves a hurdle. Technicians tend only to move from working on vehicles to MHE if
they can compromise on salary to facilitate moving away from shift work.

5. M-Tec Engineering Solutions Ltd
M-Tec House, 10 Frederick Street, Birmingham B1 3HE, UK
Tel: 0121 710 1800
Visit our website: www.mtec-es.com
HM Forces
Ex-Forces individuals vary significantly in experience. The strongest technical ability is typically
found within the REME or GEF (Ground Equipment Flight) functions – typically these candidates will
already have had some exposure to the MHE sector, as well as armoured fighting vehicles, defence
support machinery, passenger carrying vehicles, or ground support equipment. For candidates
leaving the Forces, salary is occasionally an issue, with the civilian sector not being as well
compensated as the Forces. The other major hurdle is timeframe – the resettlement period and
expected “return on service” on any additional qualifications can often prohibit applicants from
moving forward within the desired timeframe.